Zoanthids not opening

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4127john

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
246
Location
New jersey
So it's been a week since I got my zoanthids and not all of them opened up. When should I be worried about them. Half are open and half are closed
 
If they were happy they'd most likely been open by now. Did you acclimate them? If so, how? Tell us a bit about your tank (lights, water params, flow, size, etc) and also about the placement of the zoas in question (i.e. what type of flow, light, etc).
 
I used the drip acclimating method. My lighting is a t5 4 bulbs, 72 watts. When I first acclimated I put the zoanthids at the bottom and slowly put it to the top. I'll take a picture when I get home
 
How about your water params? Size of tank? That light might be fine, or it might be way underpowered depending on the size of the tank. Anything else in the tank, and if so how is it looking?
 
Oh and I have a 20 gallon tank with 1.026 salinity. My parameters are all 0. I also have two koralias 425
 
How old is the tank?

Calcium? Alkalinity? Magnesium? pH? temperature?
 
So far I have about 20 heads but half of them are either open or partially open. The rest are closed
 
I don't know magnesium levels because I'm using reef crystals . My temperature is 80. Tank is a year old
 
Do you have other coral in the tank besides the zoas? How long, and how are they doing? Have you changed your light bulbs, if they are a year old? T5HO's should be changed every 6-12 months. The light you describe, if the bulbs are good, should be sufficient for zoas.

Would you characterize where the new zoas are in the tank as low flow, medium flow, or high flow? How about the same for lighting?

Understanding your calcium, alkalinity, and to a lesser extent mag levels are important to knowing if it is a water quality issue.
 
The bulbs are probably a month old . I have a candy cane coral at he is doing pretty good in the tank. The zoas are put in the middle of the tank, considering the tank is a 20 high so the light is medium. The flow is medium flow too
 
Ok, so what I would do is move them to the floor of the tank. Assuming your water params are fine (we aren't sure on Ca and Alk, but your other coral is ok), I am assuming too much light too quickly. I'd move them down for a few days and see how it goes.
 
well, I'd be worried now, unfortunately. But if you are confident in your water params, and you have other corals that are doing well, then just too much light to quick upon acclimation is about the only thing I would assume. Worth a try. Some times Zoas don't acclimate well to new tanks... it does happen, even if you have other zoas in the tank thriving. Sometimes you can find a reason, sometimes not.
 
I hear ya. I have had a few $100/head zoas kick the bucket on me. It hurts any way you slice it... Good luck!
 
It is usually best to always start your frags off low in the tank and then gradually move them up over the course of a few weeks. I think at this point it's the best course of action you can take.
 
There is a product called revive you could try using (or any alike product) it is an iodine based treatment to help corals in trouble. You get a bucket add the amount directed on the bottle to one or so gallons of your current tank water and swirl for about 15 minutes. It worked wonders on mine!
 
Definitely not good. You may try the revive suggestion. I haven't ever used it but would try about anything at this point. In my experience zoas that don't open in the first few days don't make it.
 
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